CHICAGO — Ever wonder how the city went from a muddy backwater to a neatly-traced network of landfill and canals?
On Wednesday, the Northwest Chicago Historical Society will invite historian and author Richard Lanyon to explain how the city, and the North Side especially, conquered its waterways.
Lanyon, who retired in 2010 from the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago after a 48-year career there, will focus his presentation on the "complicated, ever-changing, and surprising story" of how engineers stemmed chronic flooding wrought by the reversal of the Chicago River in the late 19th century, according to the event page.
The lecture, titled "Draining Chicago," is free of charge and will begin at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Edgebrook library, 5331 W. Devon Ave.